As the number of people shopping online continues to increase, there are numerous opportunities for entrepreneurs in the e-commerce industry. According to the Global e-commerce forecast, the number of buyers will reach a total of 2.64 billion.1This comprised a total of 33.3% of the overall world population.
Seeing the growth of the e-commerce industry, many business owners are investing in the e-commerce sector. But with the right tools and technology, e-commerce store owners can expand their business in an efficient way.
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However, choosing an appropriate e-commerce platform is essential before starting an online business. While many feature-rich platforms are available, this blog will mainly focus on two popular options – Shopify vs Amazon. Before delving into details, let’s briefly overview Amazon and Shopify.
Shopify vs Amazon: General Overview
Amazon and Shopify are the two big names in the e-commerce industry, and each comes with a wide range of features and tools. Shopify is a multinational e-commerce company that offers online retailers a complete set of services.2
Moreover, Shopify is a subscription-based e-commerce platform that enables businesses to establish their digital presence and create online stores. It is a user-friendly platform offering various mobile-responsive website development themes. Also, it includes various tools for marketing, store management, analytics, and integration with third-party applications, enhancing the website’s overall functionality.
Amazon is a multinational technology company with diverse services focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Amazon accepts both B2C and B2B sellers and provides greater product visibility.
As per the Amazon Consumer behavior report, Amazon is one of the most popular platforms, and consumers rely the most on every stage of the buyer’s journey.3 Amazon FBA program is designed for the ease of merchants to send goods to Amazon fulfillment centers where the products are properly stored, packed, and shipped.
When considering Shopify vs Amazon, both options are viable and it is possible to use both. However, each platform has pros and cons and we will compare their key features, pricing, and marketing options so that you can make an informed decision about which platform best suits your needs.
Shopify vs Amazon: Pros & Cons
The integral question about Shopify vs Amazon, is that which platform is superior for conducting business. The two platforms differ in terms of their core offerings: while one serves as an e-commerce platform, the other operates as a marketplace. As a result, the approaches taken by each platform to support their merchants are vastly different.
Pros and Cons of Shopify
Pros
- Affordable way to build your online store
- Access to a powerful e-commerce tools
- Opportunity to build a successful business
- Easy to create a unique business identity
- Mobile-friendly store
- More control over the store
- Free 90-day trial
Cons
- Charges per month
- Access to reports is not available in the basic plan
- Transaction fees are applicable if using a third-party payment provider
- Potential increase in the overall marketing cost
Pros and Cons of Amazon
Pros
- Quick setup and start selling instantly
- Free 30-day trial with the pro account
- Easy refund and return services
- Sales report data
- FBA services are available
- Access to global audience
Cons
- Strict adherence to Amazon regulations
- Direct and robust competition
- No design options
- Highly saturated platform
- Difficult to create a unique brand identity
Shopify and Amazon have completely different set of pros and cons for businesses. While Amazon offers a strong customer base and unparalleled shipping and logistics. But, at the same time, it comes with high fees and competition from other sellers. Contrary, Shopify offers greater control over the sales process and customizable branding but requires more effort to build up traffic and customer base.
What‘s the major difference between Shopify and Amazon?
From a selling point of view, Amazon is a complex and large marketplace, just like a stall in a busy flea market, where a large number of people visit to buy products. Although most customers may not specifically be looking for your business, you can still make significant sales due to the high foot traffic.
In contrast, selling with Shopify is more like renting a building to establish your business. With your own space, you can build a unique brand image that attracts customers who actively seek out your store. However, building a loyal customer base requires more effort and hard work.
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Ease of Use
Whether you’re selling something as simple as a t-shirt or creating an entire online retail empire, a seamless selling experience is essential.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of setting up your own e-commerce store, there’s no need to worry. Shopify is specifically designed to simplify the process of building your online store.
With its user-friendly interface, intuitive navigation, Shopify streamlines the process of creating an e-commerce website. Moreover it allows you to focus on your products and customers rather than the technical aspects of building a website.
While for Amazon, learning how to use a database to create and manage the platform is important. For new merchants on Amazon, the primary challenge lies in meeting the platform’s requirements regarding product names, details, and catalog numbers. Setting up product listings on Amazon can involve a considerable amount of form-filling to ensure compliance with these requirements. But once the listing is done, you can easily publish them on the Amazon marketplace.
However, for Shopify vs Amazon, the learning curve is not steep; they are a bit different from one another.
E-commerce Tools
While ease of use and design matter a lot, another crucial element that drives the sale is e-commerce tools. Shopify has a wide range of tools that can help you in scaling your business in an effective manner.
- Logo maker
- Multi-channel selling
- App integration
- Automatic tax calculation
- Abandoned cart recovery
- International selling
- Various payment processors
- Drag and drop store builder
Amazon also offers a plethora of options to help you sell products online. One unique thing about Amazon is its global selling program that you can join to create international product listings to scale your business. You can get sales through following :
- Gift options
- Promotions
- Targeted advertisements
- Branded content
Marketing Features
Compared to Amazon, Shopify provides a broader range of marketing features to help businesses promote their products effectively.
With Shopify’s SEO tools, you can improve your website’s visibility on search engines by adding product descriptions, images and titles. Additionally, Shopify Email is a native email marketing solution that makes it easy to send welcome, confirmation , re-engagement, and feedback emails using customized templates that reflect your store’s branding.
The Shopify App Store offers many apps to help businesses create landing pages, sales strategies, and social media connections to attract and engage online customers. Apimio PIM, one of the leading PIM solutions, is available on the Shopify store to streamline product data management across various channels.
While Amazon requires sellers to optimize their pages for the platform’s search engine to stand out, which can be time-consuming and requires effort. However, Amazon supports its sellers in finding customers quickly through its demand-side platform, Amazon DSP. It allows businesses to buy audio, video, and display ads on and off the Amazon platform. Furthermore, Amazon Live supports direct streaming to your audience, making it possible to experiment with video advertising.
Customization and User Experience
Amazon offers limited options in terms of how you market your business. Although few customizations are available, you cannot create a bespoke shopping experience through Amazon. But seeing the market Amazon, the users have certain expectations from this particular platform.
In contrast, Shopify provides greater control over a seller’s brand and user experience. With professionally designed themes and product templates available, sellers can take advantage of the customization to fulfill the unique needs of their brand. Additionally, sellers can customize their store’s layout and user experience through HTML and CSS coding if they have the necessary technical skills.
Payment Options
To sell online, it is important to offer various payment options to reach a broader customer base. Both Shopify and Amazon recognize this importance, and each platform offers different payment options for their sellers.
Shopify has its own payment gateway, Shopify Payments, where sellers can accept credit card payments directly within their store without transaction fees. It gives sellers access to over 100 payment gateways, including major options such as PayPal, Stripe, and Amazon Pay.
Shopify payment gateway feature simplifies the payment process for both sellers and buyers, resulting in a more seamless checkout experience. Also, Shopify supports alternative payment options, like cryptocurrency and cash on delivery.
Amazon provides a more limited range of payment options. Amazon uses Amazon Pay, as the primary payment gateway. Buyers can use their Amazon account to complete purchases, which provides security, as their payment information is already stored on the platform. Amazon Pay is also available for external websites, providing a more consistent and recognizable payment experience for customers.
The individual plan is fit for those selling less than 40 products. It also allows you to add new products to the Amazon catalog. Based on the pricing, both platforms offer a specific plan for the customers, making both a decent choice for a wide range of customers.
Order Fulfillment
For entrepreneurs who want to avoid managing inventory and product fulfillment, Amazon FBA is a suitable option. However, individuals selling through Amazon FBA are restricted to a storage limit of 10 cubic feet, while professional sellers do not have such limits. Moreover, Amazon FBA charges fees based on the product’s weight, size, type, and sales channels.
Shopify also offers a fulfillment network but it is not as efficient as Amazon FBA. In addition, even if entrepreneurs are not Amazon sellers, they can still utilize Amazon FBA as an option.
Pricing
When considering Amazon vs Shopify, the decision also depends on the budget. For Shopify, there are four pricing plans available:
- Basic Shopify: $25 per month
- Shopify: $65 per month
- Advanced Shopify: $399 per month
- Shopify Plus: $2000 per month
Each category in Shopify offers a different set of features. Additionally, Shopify offers an option of a free trial to test the functionality before investing in it. Whereas Amazon offers the following two plans:
- Individual:$0.99 per item sold + extra selling fees for each category
- Professional: $39.99 per month + extra selling fees varies by category
Wrapping Up: Which is better, Amazon or Shopify?
The choice between Amazon and Shopify as selling platforms should not solely hinge on a single factor. Both Shopify and Amazon are excellent platforms, offering various tools and reasonable pricing. However, it is important to consider the needs of both the seller and the customer when selecting an e-commerce platform for your business.
Here’s our take: While comparing Shopify vs Amazon, we recommend Shopify, as it provides greater control, a stronger brand identity, and more scalable pricing options. On the other hand, Amazon may also be a good choice for small sellers who don’t want to pay upfront cost, but its variable extra fees could add up quickly and make it difficult to budget.
What to do next?
- If you have opted for Shopify, Head to our blog : How To Create And Optimize A Product Database For Your Shopify Store
- For detailed guidance about the Shopify migration process, read our blog: Checklist for Migrating Online Store to Shopify
- To know how PIM can play its part in boosting the overall performance on your e-commerce businesses, read “ Top 13 Essential PIM features you need for your business”
- For complete assistance about the PIM solution: Contact our support
Frequently Asked Questions
The term “multichannel importer” refers to a tool offered by Amazon that simplifies the process of transferring your products from the Amazon Marketplace to your Shopify store. With this tool, Amazon sellers can easily import all the essential information about their products, including images, inventory, and pricing, from their Amazon seller center to Shopify with just one click.
Shopify is a preferred choice for customers because it offers a comprehensive package for creating an eCommerce website. It provides a user-friendly interface with built-in templates enabling you to design various pages. Additionally, Shopify allows you to sell your products on multiple channels, including social media and marketplaces. Also, it provides robust support and customization options for your online store.
The significant problems that Shopify store owners face are inventory and order management. Shopify store owners often find themselves caught up in a never-ending cycle of repetitive tasks such as importing orders, updating inventory, and keeping track of order status throughout the day.
- Global Ecommerce Forecast:https://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/global-ecommerce-forecast-2022 [↩]
- Shopify: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopify [↩]
- Amazon Consumer Behavior: https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.mediapost.com/uploads/2021_Consumer_Behavior_Report.pdf [↩]
